Well I purchased a 2000 SS a few months back with 9 k miles on it and have put nearly 1000 miles on it. It took a little while to get used to the shifter.. or so i thought. 3rd gear has always been a pain, if i dont push it all the way in it sometimes pops back out and other times (occasionally) at high rpms when going from 2-3 it makes a quick grind noise, not loud.

I thought it was just my shifting ability and i'd have to learn but i think the shifter fork was bent when i bought it.... it seems odd... 9k miles and a bent fork???

Maybe its just my imaginiation... i dont notice it much, maybe once every few days or so. If i drive it normally i never notice anything unless i am going slow and try to put it in 3rd lightly.. it pops out.

Well.. What i am looking for is opinions on how to deal with this. Will it damage my trans if it is bent and i ignore it? i'd say most of drivers wouldnt even notice.

Do i tear it out and replace it with a steel fork? How much $$am i going to be out ? This is a real kicker after buying a low mile mint condition car..

 

Well if you dont get it fixed you can take out the the hole damn tranny. Sence the fork is bent no the 3/4 is sitting at an angle. With enuff shifting you can break the 3/4. Parts should not be more than $400-500 but labor can be big $$$

 

The fork does not actually bend but it acts the same. It wears at the hole where it attaches to the rail(wallows out the hole) . This fork will not break, ever. This wear can happen at low miles( depends on how hard a shifting its seen)The wear does cause jump out of gear and can cause sticking in 4th. Once stuck in gear, it can cause the struts( incerts) to break. It is never a good thing to have loose parts rotating inside a trans. I would get it fixed. Soon.

 

This fork will not break, ever.

I wonder about that. I saw a broken one last night at the shop where I dropped my car off for a rebuild.

 

and they do bend. That is why they replace them with STEEL. You should be able to get a steel 3-4 fork put in for <$500. That's a lot of money cause most shops charge flat rates for labor. Usually 250 to pull, 250 to rebuild; no matter if you are doing a full rebuild or putting in a shift fork.

 

Id like to see a pic of that broken 3/4 fork. Also the bent one.

 

Well, i called up D&D performance transmissions and they said i can get the fork replaced with a steel one for $350 total if nothing else is wrong.

Well.. looks like i am going to take it in for a diagnosis.

 

DanO is that for them to install it too? Cause the 3 / 4 steel fork is listed for 50 bucks on their site

 

Yes, that is installation too.

 

NO NO the fork will not break but the gear can break it self. Buy just grinding the teeth off.

 

I do how ever have a broken 3-4 shift fork and I have seen a couple others. Calhoon from the posts I have read is VERY knowledgeable on these units and so far I have yet to read any incorrect advice or info he has posted. I build these units daily and have close to 100 in my shop at this time(Vipers,F-Body,and C5 units) and have only seen around 3 broken forks and not one bent 3-4 fork(now a bent 5-6 fork on the other hand is a different story)Calhoon the one I have here on the shelf is broke right through the middle of the hole where the shift linkage rod runs through it.The entire top of the fork was laying in the bottom of the case. It was definately from severe abuse as it is worn badly on both sides of the fork where the linkage that moves it has been beat it to death.

 

If I told you haw many of these I have seen, I'ld have to kill you.
The only place that fork can break is through what I call the key hole(thats what it looks like). It would only break there after severe clashing and shifting long after the 3/4 function was crapped out - the abuse from hell. Sometimes I forget that there are people who treat their cars that poorly.Thats why I wanted the pic.( you don't need to supply one).The same break is more common & easier to get in a T45.
As to bent, I wonder if the person who stated this has acktually looked at one of the aluminum forks and would like to re-answer.
The 5/6 fork is quite easy to bend and it is iron. There is a forged fork for 5/6 comming.

 

About 90% of the time the popping out of 3rd is a result on the plastic pucks on the 3rd gear shift fork are work and the syncro's are rounded over.It is a good time to upgrade to the steel shiftfork too. Most of the time you need -steel fork,3-4 slider syncro,3rd gear.

I've rebuilt 3 tranny's this month from the same exact problem you are having

 

There are improved fork pads(pucks) available but are pretty spendy

 

great.... There goes headers!

 

How much is that work typically for parts/labor? Just trying to get and idea as I am currently buying a car with basically this exact problem and am trying to figure out what I should expect to pay to have it fixed.

Thanks

-Ethan